Life-preserver.



PATENTED NOV. 14, 1905.

W. N. MORRISON.

LIFE PRESERVER.

APPLIOATION FILED APR.6,1904.

- UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 14, 1905.

Application filed April 6, 1904. Serial No. 201,905.

T 0 all 1071107771 it 777,602.] concern.-

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM N. MORRISON, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city of St. Louis, in the State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Life-Preservers, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification.

The object of my invention is to produce a life-preserver that may be quickly and easily positioned and adjusted upon the Wearers body and which will have great buoyancy and yet occupy a comparatively small space upon the wearers body and be so arranged as to not interfere with the free use of the arms and legs of the wearer.

The invention consists in features of novelty hereinafter fully described, and pointed out in the claims.

Figure I is a perspective view of my improved life-preserver, the body of the wearer thereof being shown in dotted lines. Fig. II is an elevation of the inside face of the central portion of the half of the life-preserver that is positioned upon the wearers back.

Fig. III is an enlarged cross-section taken ap proximately on line III III, Fig. I.

Referring to the drawings, 1 indicates that member for the half of my improved life-preserver that occupies a position on the front of the body of the wearer, this member being in the form of an elongated sack composed of two sections of flexible material 2, the same being joined at points equidistant from their edges by longitudinally-extending rows of stitches 3. Thus a plurality of equal-sized elongated sacks are formed, the same being filled With disintegrated cork or analogous material. The member 1 so formed is much narrower in width than is the body of the wearer and of such length as that it extends from a point high up on the chest of the wearer to a point somewhat below the waist-line.

The opposite member 4 of my improved lifepreserver is in form and construction a counterpart of the member 1 and is adapted to occupy a position on the back of the wearer, extending from a point between the shoulders downwardly to a point below the waist-line. The rear ends of a pair of shoulder-straps 5 are secured in any suitable manner to the outside faces of the upper end of the member 4: and extend from thence upwardly and forwardly over the shoulders of the wearer and the front ends of said straps slide through straps 6 secured to the outer face of the upper end of the member 1. The ends of the straps 5 are joined at a point below these straps 6 to a single strap 7, which is provided with a buckle 8. The rear end of the strap 9 is secured to the lower end of the member 4 and passes from thence between the legs of the wearer upwardly beneatha pair of retaining-- straps 10, the ends of which are secured to the front face of the lower portion of the member 1, and the free end of the strap 9 passes through the buckle 8.

Secured to the outer faces of the members 1 and 4:, adjacent their side edges, and approximately half-way between their ends, are short straps 11, which act as keepers or retainers for a strap 12, that passes around the body of the wearer of the life-preserver, although the use of this strap 12 is not essential to the correct positioning of the device upon the body of the wearer.

A life-preserver constructed in accordance with my invention is quicklypositioned and adjusted and does not interfere in any way with the free movement of the legs and arms of the wearer and can be very cheaply manufactured, inasmuch as the elongated sacks do not have to be made of waterproof material and the buoyancy of the device is not impaired, even though the sacks become torn or broken while in use.

It will be noted that the member 1 of the lifepreserver is not fixed to either of the straps 5 or 9, but is held to slide thereupon, and this construction permits of the member 1 being adjusted vertically to the proper position after the life-preserver has been positioned upon the body of the wearer.

I claim as my 'invention 1. In a life-preserver. a pair of elongated sacks adapted to be positioned upon the front and back of the wearers body, each sack being formed into a plurality of longitudinallyextending pockets, a buoyant filling material for said pockets, a pair of strips connected to the upper end of the rear sack, transverse strips secured to the upper end of the front sack beneath which the first-mentioned strips are positioned, a single strip uniting the free ends of the first-mentioned strips, a buckle fixed to the free end of the single strip, a strip secured to the lower end of the rear sack, and transverse strips secured to the lower end of the front sack beneath which the last-mentioned strip passes, substantially as specified.

2. In a life-preserver, an elongated sack adapted to be positioned on the back of the tom strips of the rear sack and permitting wearer, which sack is formed into a plurality sliding movement of the front sack on said of longitudinally-extending pockets, a buoystrips in the direction of elongation of the ant material filling said pockets, strips fixed sack, and means whereby the strips of the rear 5' 5 to the top and bottom of the sack, a second sack are secured intermediate of said transelongatefid slack adapted t3 bfe posigioned on tlhe verse strips, substantially as set forth. front 0 t e wearer an orme into a p urality of elongated pockets, a buoyant filler WILLIAM MORRISON for said pockets, transverse strips at the top In presence of I and bottom of said front sack; the said trans- NELLIE V. ALEXANDER,

verse strips loosely engaging the top and bot- E. S. KNIGHT. 

